Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

Phillies Invite Seven Non-Roster Players to Spring Training

The Phillies announced today they have invited seven players to spring training as non-roster invitees:

Chris Duffy, OF. Duffy, 29, started last season with the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting .125 with three RBIs in 19 games. He finished the season with Triple-A Nashville. He has hit .262 with six home runs and 52 RBIs in 212 big-league games with Pittsburgh (2005-07) and Milwaukee (2009).

Paul Hoover, C. Hoover, 33, hit .253 with one home run and 28 RBIs in his 73 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He had three hits in four at-bats with the Phillies, including a walk-off single in the season finale against Florida.

Cody Ransom, INF. Ransom, 33, split last season with the New York Yankees and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He began the season as the Yankees’ Opening Day third baseman, filling in for Alex Rodriguez. Ransom hit .190 with 10 RBIs in 31 games. He has played with the San Francisco Giants (2001-04), Houston Astros (2007) and Yankees (2008-09).

Andy Tracy, INF. An International League postseason All-Star in 2009, Tracy, 36, spent the entire season with Lehigh Valley. He led the league in walks (74), finished second in home runs (26) and RBIs (96) and finished fourth in runs scored (76). Tracy also appeared in nine games with the Phillies, where he made one start and hit .500 (4-for-8) as a pinch-hitter.

DeWayne Wise, OF. Wise, 31, spent last season with the Chicago White Sox. He set career highs in games (84), at-bats (142) and doubles (eight). He hit .268 in 44 games after the All-Star break and was 4-for-9 as a pinch-hitter. Wise, who made a game-saving, over-the-wall catch in Mark Buehrle‘s perfect game in July, appeared in 35 games in center field (24 starts), 34 in left field (10 starts) and five in right field (two starts). He has played with the Toronto Blue Jays (2000, 2002), Atlanta Braves (2004), Cincinnati Reds (2006-07) and White Sox (2008-09).

Wilson Valdez, INF. Valdez, 32, split last season between the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets. He began the year with Triple-A Columbus, but was traded to the Mets on May 27 and outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo on June 25. Valdez combined to hit .247 with 12 RBIs in 77 games in the Minors. He hit .256 (22-86) with seven RBIs in 41 games with the Mets.

Bill White, LHP. White, 31, did not pitch last season. He last pitched for the Texas Rangers organization in 2008, when he combined to go 4-1 with six saves and a 3.48 ERA in 51 relief appearances between Triple-A Oklahoma and Single-A Bakersfield. He appeared in eight games for Texas in 2008.

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Decent group of dudes. Valdez could probably be a good bench middle infielder but I guess we have Castro taking up that spot now. DeWayne Wise could be a September defense callup, and Cody Ransom . . . well, Cody Ransom sucked, but he sucked with the Yankees! I’m told that’s worth something.

I’m looking forward to seeing these guys try to make the 25-man roster. The odds are against them, but the Phils have shown that they will give players that other teams have given up on a chance to prove they belong in MLB: Jason Werth, Shane Victorino, J.C. Romero, and Scott Eyre just to name four. Who will be next?

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